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how does that not violate HIPAA ? I see it talking about "you can proactively opt out with hipaa" but everything I've ever seen about HIPAA is that all "opting
by zzzeek 7y ago
how does that not violate HIPAA ? I see it talking about "you can proactively opt out with hipaa" but everything I've ever seen about HIPAA is that all "opting in" needs to be explicitly granted by the patient.
- creaghpatr 7y agoI'm guessing you opt-in when you request a quote.
- yabadabadoes 7y agoIt still sounds sketchy since it sounds like your data is maintained at a 3rd party for a purpose that is not intended (unrelated to your care) on the idea that you may one day opt-in to the unintended use.
- yborg 7y agoWe are all most likely explicitly authorizing this activity in the reams of fine print you sign without reading or otherwise accept by agreeing to service by your local hospital group or pharmacy combine.
- astura 7y agoIf you want life insurance then you are required to give permission to view this data about you. If you don't want to give permission, then you don't get life insurance. https://www.rxhistories.com/irix/medical-data/ https://www.rxhistories.com/irix/medical-data/ >How It Works >1 Applicants sign a HIPAA-compliant authorization, enabling insurers to retrieve their medical information >2 Insurers electronically query Milliman IntelliScript in real-time >3 Milliman instantly gathers information from multiple data sources >4 Irix interprets the data and generates automated decisions based on the insurer's guidelines
- SamBam 7y agoBut I never gave Milliman permission to hold this data, so didn't they already violate HIPAA?
- astura 7y agoSounds like they have hooks into the back end systems to query multiple insurance companies and pharmacies on the fly. - "Milliman instantly gathers information from multiple data sources"
- sethbannon 7y agoLikely deep within the terms and conditions you agreed to with your private health insurance company, you did indeed give permission.
- nosuchuser2 7y agoI think you misunderstand HIPAA. As long as they have a business associate agreement with the pharmacies and serve some vaguely care-adjacent purpose, the pharmacy can share your data with them without your knowledge or consent.
- SamBam 7y agoI can't tell if you're being cynical or serious, but if the latter I can't see how this is correct. From "Pharmacy privacy Requirements here [1], I don't think "business associate agreement [with] some vaguely care-adjacent purpose" meets the standards for information-sharing. Rather the information must be being shared as part of specific treatment for a patient (discussing actual care) or payment. [1] https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/hipaa-privacy-security-and-pharmacy-information-technology https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/hipaa-privacy-security-...
- rlucas 7y agoGP comment is being deadly serious and not at all cynical or sarcastic. HIPAA is a fig leaf. Cardboard covers on clipboards to inconvenience the nurses and receptionists, but a unencumbered infobahn for anyone who touches the money to drive straight through. For decades, every visit, test, procedure, and medication you've ever had paid for by a health insurer in the US got dumped straight into MIB, where any insurer could look at it. HIPAA functionally changed this not a whit.
- otikik 7y agoI imagine somewhere in their quoting algorithm they have a conditional like `if potential_customer.opted_out_of_hipaa then quote = max_possible_quote, msg = 'you can lower your quote by sharing your data with us'".
- pc86 7y agoUnlikely